Wisconsin NCT: Day Two

 Day Two

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Michigan/Wisconsin Border to Trail Junction Parking, estimated 20 miles

That 5am alarm came quickly on Sunday morning, but with a bit of prodding, Tanya and I managed to get Matt out the door just after 6am.  We whipped through the McDonald's drive thru and headed to where we'd begin our day.

Before actually starting the North Country Trail that morning, we had one quick stop to make.  We were soooo close to the westernmost point of the Upper Peninsula, along with Superior Falls, and I had never been to either.  After a short hike down a steep trail, we were on the shore of Lake Superior.  The sun was just thinking about rising for the day, and the view to the east was amazing!

We took the beach to the west and there we were, standing on the edge of Michigan with Wisconsin just a stone's throw away across the channel.

As if all of that wasn't amazing enough, just around the corner from that was Superior Falls.  If you follow the little shoreline far enough, you'll find yourself almost completely surrounded by huge rock formations and the waterfall.  It was beautiful.

This whole area, just a half mile from where we had left the car, was simply breathtaking.  It honestly felt like a little piece of heaven.

Then we had to climb the trail back up and away from the shoreline.  I swear this squirrel was laughing at me.

Okay, enough horsing around, it was time to get going.  It was already after 7am and we had a long way to hike today!  We started out with a bit of a road walk before officially getting to Wisconsin.  This deer stood and watched us as we walked by-I'm sure she thought we were crazy.

Crossing the Montreal River meant that we were leaving Michigan and entering Wisconsin. We were gifted with a beautiful view as we crossed!

And then we were there!  Hello, Wisconsin!

We knew the first half of this day would be on roads, so we settled in and made good time.  It was a quiet Sunday morning with very little traffic.  Soon, we were approaching Saxon Harbor, which would give us our last view of Lake Superior on the NCT this trip.

The road turned to dirt as we made our way away from Lake Superior, and I caught a little lovebird moment between Matt and Tanya.  Say it with me, "Awwwwww..."

Three hours later, we were still trekking down the road, which had turned back into pavement.  Under a bridge and up a hill and we came to Gurney Community Park.  If you find a bench, you must sit.  So, we sat.  And then we noticed some basketballs over on the basketball court, so Matt spent some time working on his hook shot.  I found a little nest that had blown from a tree, which always makes me a little sad, but I brought a homemade Rice Krispie Treat, which definitely cheered me up.

Soon enough, we had to bid the little park farewell.  We continued down the road and crossed the Potato River.  I didn't see any potatoes, though.  Bummer.

Finally, it was time for the trail to leave the road and be an actual trail!  This first section was all new trail, and we were so happy to be back in the woods, which was filled with so many different types of mushrooms and fungi.  Tanya knew the names of some of them, but I'm pretty sure she was making some of the names up as well.

We came to the first log book of this trip, and Matt was so happy to sign it.  Of course, he signed all of our trail names: Three More Miles, Thicc Cold Brew, and Pioneer Woman.  

While Matt was signing the book, Tanya and I followed signs that indicated there was a bathroom of some sort.  We weren't expecting more than an outhouse pit toilet, but were surprised to find just the pit toilet, with no surround of any kind!  I guess the trees gave enough cover if you really wanted to use it!

We continued on, past the little mushrooms, over well-built bridges, on some great single-track trail.

Then came a really fun part!  We passed by Copperhole Falls, Latimer Falls, and Foster Falls. This was a beautiful section, and there was enough access on the west end that even families could do a pretty short out-and-back to see all of these falls.

Finally, we came to Upson Lake Overlook.  I tend to not get too excited when overlooks are noted on our maps because they are often so overgrown we end up looking over nothing.  This was a pretty great view, and I'm sure it'll be breathtaking in a few weeks, at the height of the fall color season.

The next few hours are a bit of a blur.  I'll tell you, we made great time for the miles that day.  We even got a little turned around in the last mile, unsure of where the spur trail to my truck was.  But we did, in fact, make it to my truck.  We were pretty beat.  Then we had to go get Matt and Tanya's car.  Then we decided that it would be best to go drop my truck off for the end of the next day's hike.  I left my truck at Copper Falls State Park, after buying a day pass that would expire at 11pm.  I ended up leaving a note in the windshield explaining that I'd pay for the next day if needed when we arrived at my vehicle after hiking. (Please don't give me a ticket!) Then we beelined back to the motel in Michigan where Tanya and I took the two fastest showers known to mankind.  Then we high-tailed it to Bessemer, the next town over to meet up with Matt's family and catch the second half of the Lions/Packers game.  All of that happened in about 2.5 hours.  We were getting really familiar with that Michigan/Wisconsin border area!

We ate way too much food and watched the Lions lose to the Packers.  But it was nice to meet Matt's family in their little town!

That brought us to the end of Day 2.  We headed back to the motel where we once again prepared for the next day's hike.  We set those early alarms and passed out.